Bone drill

Abstract

A bone drill for medical operations is provided. In the bone drill, there is an elongated drill component), which is manufactured from a superelastic material, and an essentially straight drill-component shield, which is hollow. According to the invention, at the end of the drill-component shield there is a guide arrangement for selecting for the drill component a turning angle relative to the drill-component shield, and once the drill component has run through the guide part, the superelastic properties of its material return it to its original shape and the drill component is then is a position, in which it can be used to drill in the direction of the turning angle.

1 . A bone drill for medical operations, said bone drill comprising;
 an elongated drill component, wherein said elongated drill component contains a superelastic material,   an essentially straight drill-component shield, wherein said drill-component shield is hollow,   wherein, at the end of the drill-component shield, there is a guide arrangement which determines a turning angle for the drill component relative to the drill-component shield, and   wherein the drill component's material's superelastic properties are sufficient to return the drill component to its resting shape upon running through the shield component and then the drill component is in a position in which it is capable of drilling in the direction of the turning angle determined by the guide arrangement.   
     
     
         2 . A bone drill according to  claim 1 , wherein the guide arrangement consists of one part and is attached to the outer end of the drill-component shield. 
     
     
         3 . A bone drill according to  claim 2 , wherein the guide arrangement is changable in order to change the turning angle. 
     
     
         4 . A bone drill according to  claim 1 , wherein the guide arrangement is inside the drill-component shield and within the guide arrangement there is a slide component as well as a counter component and the drill component is arranged to run between the slide component and the counter component ;  in such a way that they change the drill component's turning angle. 
     
     
         5 . A bone drill according to  claim 4 , wherein the guide arrangement consists of a single part and is changeable in order to change the turning angle. 
     
     
         6 . A bone drill according to  claim 4 , wherein the guide arrangement consists of at least two parts as well as a slide component and a counter component is shaped within the guide arrangement, said counter component is shaped such that the slide component and the counter component are in different parts of the guide arrangement, and the part of the guide arrangement in which the slide component is within can be moved relative to the counter component which changes the turning angle of the drill component running between the slide component and the counter component. 
     
     
         7 . A bone drill according to  claim 4 , wherein the guide arrangement is pivotable around its axis inside the drill-component shield, said pivoting is capable of changing the direction of the drill component relative to the axis of rotation of the guide arrangement. 
     
     
         8 . A bone drill according to  claim 4 , wherein the slide component has a slide surface and the counter component has a counter surface, and wherein said slide surface and said counter surface are arranged to bend the drill component running between them, and the positions of the slide surface and counter surface relative to each other determine the magnitude of the bending of the drill component. 
     
     
         9 . A bone drill according to  claim 1 , wherein the drill-component shield is a sleeve around the drill component which can be rotated around the longitudinal axis of the drill component, said rotation being capable of setting the turning angle of the drill component. 
     
     
         10 . A bone drill according to  claim 1 , wherein the drill-component shield is tubular, has a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the tube is open at least at the distal end, and wherein the open portion of the distal end faces the opposite direction relative to the proximal end. 
     
     
         11 - 12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . A method of forming a drill channel in bone of biological origin, wherein the drill channel is achieved by using a bone drill comprising an elongated drill component, wherein said elongated drill component contains a superelastic material, an essentially straight drill-component shield, wherein said drill-component shield is hollow wherein at the end of the drill-component shield, there is a guide arrangement which determines a turning angle for the drill component relative to the drill-component shield, and wherein the drill component's material's superelastic properties are sufficient to return the drill component to its resting shape upon running through the shield component and then the drill component is in a position in which it is capable of drilling in the direction of the turning angle determined by the guide arrangement, said method comprising the steps of;
 selecting a turning angle for the drill component by setting the guide arrangement of the drill, and   drilling a drill channel in the bone of biological origin by extending the elongated drill component through the drill-component shield at the selected turning angle set by the guide arrangement of the drill.   
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the drill channel is formed in the bone of a living mammal. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein a drill channel is formed comprising at least two linear drill channel portions having longitudinal axes which disposed with an angle between them. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the drill channel is formed for the treatment of osteonecrosis, is formed as a part of joint-surface drilling or is formed of arthrodesis. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the drilling is subchondral-bone drilling. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 13 , further comprising drilling unossified bone through trabecular bone in the intramedullary nailing. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the drilling is in retrograde osteochondritis drilling or osteoarthritis-decompression. 
     
     
         20 . The method according to  claim 15 , further comprising treating delayed- or non-unions, in distal tibial shaft and any long bones with said drilling. 
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 13 , further comprising treating conditions of osteochonditis dissecans with said drilling. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 13 , further comprising treating juvenile osteochondrosis of head of femur with said drilling. 
     
     
         23 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein a biologically or physiologically active substance, is injected into the drill channel. 
     
     
         24 . A bone drill according to  claim 1 , wherein the elongated drill component comprises a drilling end at one of its terminal ends and wherein the drilling end is an integral portion of the superelastic material of the elongated drill component. 
     
     
         25 . A bone drill according to  claim 22 , wherein the drilling end of the elongated drill component is not covered or coated. 
     
     
         26 . A method according to  claim 13 , wherein a drilling end of the extended elongated drill component drills the bone and the drilling end is an integral portion of the superelastic material of the elongated drill component. 
     
     
         27 . A method according to  claim 26 , wherein said drilling is carried out by an uncovered and uncoated drilling end of the extended elongated drill component.